Keystone XL is an ambitious project that would send Canadian crude from Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico, where the United States’ expansive refining capacity would transform it into gasoline, diesel, and other valuable petroleum commodities. The pipeline itself would be over 1,000 miles long and 36 inches in diameter, capable of moving over 830,000 barrels of oil per day on a route through Montana, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas. In 2012, the Obama administration delayed an earlier iteration of the proposal, prompting well-earned charges that the president was kowtowing to the environmentalists in an election year. With that election over, and any lingering environmental concerns satisfied, we see no reason why the latest version of the project should not be swiftly approved.

Estimates on the number of jobs expected to be created by Keystone range from 5,000 to 40,000 or more. It has been reported that the president told congressional Republicans in a recent meeting that he believes the actual number will be on the low end. Perhaps it will, which would put it well ahead of some federally subsidized solar startups we can think of.